Gaming system controlling termination of playing and degree of playing difficulty

ABSTRACT

In a gaming system comprising a plurality of gaming machines according to the invention, to raise diversity, pleasure, convenience, etc., of game plays, each gaming machine is provided with a game memory which stores various game programs and a game controller for executing a program read from the game memory in response to a game selection command, and a centralized controller is provided with a degree-of-difficulty adjustment section responsive to a game condition signal from each game controller for adjusting the degree of difficulty in playing a game executed by the game controller and a gaming machine termination controller for determining whether or not each gaming machine is to be terminated.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a gaming system comprising a centralizedcontroller and at least one gaming machine connected to the centralizedcontroller by a line and gaming machines used with the gaming system.

TECHNICAL BACKGROUND

Generally, in gaming houses such as pinball halls, a player can playonly one type of game, such as a pinball or slot machine, at each gamingmachine.

To prevent players from losing the enjoyment of playing games, thedegree of difficulty in playing games at each gaming machine ispreferably adjusted appropriately in response to how the players wingames, etc., at the gaming machine. However, it requires a great deal oflabor and is not practical to make such adjustment manually for eachgame for all gaming machines.

Thus, enhancing the diversity, enjoyment, convenience, etc., of playinggames is limited.

The player can still play only one type of game at one gaming machine;he or she cannot select one among various games. To provide diversifiedgames, the gaming house must contain a large number of gaming machines,which requires a large location and enormous costs.

If the degree of difficulty in playing games is not adjusted, if it ismuch too difficult for players to win games, they may not enjoy playinggames, while if it is much too easy for players to win games, they maylose interest in playing games. Thus, the players can preferably wingames at a given degree of difficulty, but if every gaming machine isadjusted to a given degree of difficulty, the players may or may not beable to win games at a desirable degree of difficulty depending on theirskill in playing games.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a gaming systemwhich enables a player to play various games at a gaming machine byselecting one of the games, and gaming machines used with the gamingsystem. It is another object of the invention to provide a gaming systemwhich adjusts the degree of difficulty in playing a game at each gamingmachine in response to the game score condition and gaming machines usedwith the gaming system. It is a further object of the invention toprovide a gaming system which controls termination of gaming machines inresponse to the score and the degree of difficulty and gaming machinesused with the gaming system. It is another object of the invention toprovide a gaming system which can execute batch management of gamingmachine termination control and degree of difficulty setting by acentralized controller, and gaming machines used with the gaming system.

To these ends, according to the invention, there is provided a gamingsystem comprising a centralized controller and at least one gamingmachine connected to the centralized controller by a line, characterizedin that

the gaming machine comprises:

a controller for controlling the gaming machine, a game image displayunit for outputting a game image, and an operation section for acceptingvarious operation commands input by a player for playing a game,

the controller having a storage and a CPU,

the CPU comprising a game controller for controlling a game; an imagedisplay controller for outputting information, as instructed from thegame controller, to the game image display unit; and a game interfacefor sending commands input to the operation section to the gamecontroller,

the game controller comprising means for determining the degree ofdifficulty in playing a game; means for executing a game at the degreeof difficulty; and means for informing the centralized controller ofgame conditions, and that

the centralized controller comprises a controller,

the controller comprising means for accepting input of a game condition;means responsive to the accepted game condition for determining adegree-of-difficulty change value used to determine the degree ofdifficulty; and means for informing the game controller of thedetermined degree-of-difficulty change value.

Thus, termination of the gaming machines can be controlled in responseto the score and the degree of difficulty.

Preferably, the controller of the centralized controller in the gamingsystem of the invention further includes means responsive to theaccepted game condition for determining whether or not the gamingmachine is to be terminated and means for sending a terminationinstruction to the game controller in response to the determination oftermination, and the game controller has means for terminating thegaming machine upon receipt of the termination instruction.

Thus, the gaming machines can be terminated in response to the gamecondition.

The storage of the gaming machine may have a game program storage area,the operation section may have means for accepting selection of a gametype and informing the game controller of the selected game type, andthe game controller may have means for reading a game program previouslystored in the storage corresponding to the game of the type selected andexecuting it. Thus, any registered game program can be read from thestorage of the gaming machine, shortening the time required for readingthe game program. Since the centralized controller is not requested tosend game programs, the processing load of the centralized controllercan be reduced. If game type selection is accepted and the selected gameis executed as described above, the player can play various games byselecting one of the games.

On the other hand, a storage of the centralized controller may have agame program storage area, the operation section may have a function ofaccepting selection of a game type and informing the game controller ofthe selected game type, the game controller may have means forrequesting the centralized controller to send a game program of the gameof the type selected, and the controller of the centralized controllermay have means responsive to the request for reading the game programpreviously stored in the game program storage area and transmitting thegame program to the game controller. The game controller may have meansfor executing the transmitted game program. Thus, the game programstorage locations are unified in the system, facilitating maintenance ofthe game programs.

Further, each of the storages of the centralized controller and eachgaming machine may have a game program storage area. Thus, frequentlyused game programs can be stored in the storages of the gaming machinesand less frequently used game programs can be stored in the storage ofthe centralized controller for shortening the average required time forreading a game program and facilitating replacement of less frequentlyused programs.

Preferably, the centralized controller further includes an input unit, astorage of the centralized controller has a termination gaming machinetable for registering the gaming machine to be terminated, and thecontroller of the centralized controller further includes means forsending a termination instruction to the game controller of the gamingmachine registered in the termination gaming machine table and means foraccepting specification of the gaming machine to be terminated from theinput unit and registering the gaming machine in the termination gamingmachine table. Thus, any desired gaming machine can be terminated fromthe centralized controller.

Preferably, the centralized controller further includes an input unit, astorage of the centralized controller has a degree-of-difficulty setupvalue storage area for registering a degree-of-difficulty setup value,and the controller of the centralized controller further includes meansfor determining a degree-of-difficulty change value so that the degreeof difficulty becomes a degree-of-difficulty setup value stored in thedegree-of-difficulty setup value storage area and means for acceptingspecification of a degree-of-difficulty setup value from the input unitand storing it in the degree-of-difficulty setup value storage area.Thus, the degree of difficulty can be set for all gaming machines by oneoperation of inputting the degree-of-difficulty setup value to thecentralized controller.

According to the invention, there are provided gaming machines used withthe gaming system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a gaming machinehaving a game memory;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a centralizedcontroller having no game memory;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the gamingmachine with a game image display unit placed in a vertical position;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a gaming machinehaving no game memory;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a centralizedcontroller having a game memory;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the gamingmachine with a game image display unit inclined;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a gaming systemof the invention;

FIG. 8 is an illustration showing an example of a display screen outputwhen a pinball game is executed;

FIG. 9 is an illustration showing an example of a display screen outputwhen a slot machine game is executed;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of a gamecontroller;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an input amount determination process ofthe game controller;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a game remaining amount determinationprocess of the game controller;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a game selection process of the gamecontroller;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an adjustment process of the gamecontroller;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a gaming machine input data correspondingprocess of a game monitor section;

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a termination determination process of agaming machine termination controller;

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a degree-of-difficulty determinationprocess of a degree-of-difficulty adjustment section;

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a gaming machine management process ofthe game monitor section;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the gamemonitor section; and

FIG. 20 is a data format showing an example of history data.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, there are shown embodimentsof the invention.

Embodiment 1

A gaming system of a first embodiment comprises a centralized controller50 for controlling gaming machines and at least one gaming machine 1connected to the centralized controller via a line (communication linethat can be used for transferring signals whether by wire or radio), asshown in FIG. 7 wherein a system having three gaming machines 1 isillustrated as an example.

The gaming machine according to the embodiment contains a controller 8,a card processor 5a, and a money processor 5b. It also has a game imagedisplay unit 11 for displaying a game image, an operation section 5, anda display unit 10 for displaying a game name and a score. The controller8 has a storage 6 and a central processing unit (CPU).

The storage 6 stores information such as constants required for CPUoperations. Also, the storage 6 comprises a game memory 12 which storesprogram information of games that can be played by players at the gamingmachine 1. Programs of a number of types of video, pinball, and slotmachine games are registered in the gaming machine 1 of the embodiment.When a player selects one of the game types, the gaming machine 1accepts the selection and enables the player to play a game of the typeselected. For example, a memory such as an IC card, semiconductormemory, optical disk (CD), digital magnetic tape (DCC), or magnetic disk(MD) can be used as the game memory 12.

The CPU has a game controller 14, a game interface 16, and an imagedisplay controller 15.

The game controller 14 reads a game program from the game memory 12 ofthe storage 6, makes the game of the type selected progress based onplayer input information obtained through the game interface 16, andinforms the image display controller 15 of image information concerningthe progress condition, etc. When making the game progress, the gamecontroller 14 executes the game at the degree of difficulty receivedfrom the centralized controller 50 via the line 9. The game controller14 sends information concerning the game progress condition, etc., tothe centralized controller 50 via the line 9. The game progresscondition signal includes data representing the so-called slump degreesuch as winning game play frequency. Further, the game controller 14displays information such as the game name and score in informationdisplay areas of the display unit 10. The game controller 14 acceptsinformation from the card processor 5a and the money processor 5b andcontrols the operation of the processors 5la and 5b.

The game controller 14 also transmits management data including theamount of money input to the gaming machine, the type of game played atthe gaming machine, the game execution time, etc., together with thegame condition signal to the centralized controller 50 via the line 9.

The game interface 16 accepts player input for selection of the gametype, game progress, etc., through the operation section 5 and sends theinput to the game controller 14.

The image display controller 15 controls display of the game imagedisplay unit 11 based on image information input from the gamecontroller 14. Each of the image display controller 15 and the gamecontroller 14 can be made of a microcomputer having a CPU, ROM, and RAM,for example.

FIG. 3 shows the appearance of the gaming machine 1 according to theembodiment. The game image display unit 11 for displaying a game imageis provided on the front 2 of the gaming machine 1. The embodiment usesa panel display, such as a liquid crystal display screen, as the gameimage display unit 11, but a CRT can also be used. However, a liquidcrystal display screen is preferably used because the display unit canbe then made small.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show examples of display screens of the game image displayunit 11 displayed by the image display controller 15.

FIG. 8 is an example of a display screen output when a pinball game isplayed. A guide rail 82 and a lower guide rail 82b are provided on abase board 81. The inner area surrounded by the guide rail 82 and thelower guide rail 82b within the base board 81 provides a game area 82a.The image of a pinball displayed as if it were propelled from the lowerleft portion 12b of the base board 81 is displayed as if it moved to thevertical upper position (upstream) of the game area 82A along the guiderail 82.

The pinball image is displayed as if the pinball rose upstream along theguide rail 82 while decelerating due to gravity. The speed from when thepinball is propelled, changes to fall at speed 0, and the ball thendrops while accelerating due to gravity. The pinball image is displayedas if the pinball fell to the lower guide rail 82b, then moved towardthe downstream center of the base board along the rail 82b, entered anout hole 85, and disappeared from the base board.

In the game area 82b of the base board 81, images of a large number ofpins (nails) 83 are displayed so that a pinball falling along the baseboard 81 frequently collides with the pins and it's direction ofmovement is made to fluctuate. When an obstacle, such as the pin 83 orthe lower guide rail 82b, exists in the way of falling pinball, thepinball image is displayed as if the pinball collides with the obstacleand changes movement direction.

The game area 82a is provided with the three types of regions displayedas if the pinball image entered the hole and disappeared from the baseboard 81 (displayed as if holes were made): A plurality of safe holes84a-- if a player enters the pinball image in the hole, they win thegame--, a win effect indication 84b provided at the base board centerfrom upstream to downstream--if the pinball image enters the hole, aspecial win condition is provided--, and the out hole 85 displayed as ifpinballs not entering the safe holes 84a were finally collected anddischarged from the base board 81. When the player enters the pinballimage in the safe hole, they are given predetermined points for thewinning game play.

The state of the win effect indication 84b changes each time the pinballimage enters a specific safe hole 84a. If the player satisfies apredetermined condition, a large number of pinballs are paid out to theplayer for the winning game play. For example, slots like those of aslot machine are displayed and reels are displayed as if they rotatedeach time the player wins a game. If a predetermined symbol pattern iscompleted when the reel rotation stops, a special win condition isentered and a large safe hole (not shown) appears downstream to allowthe pinball image to easily enter the safe hole. When a win condition ora special win condition is set, color or the like on the base board 81can also be changed for informing the player of a condition change.

FIG. 9 is an example of a display screen output on the game imagedisplay unit 11 when a slot machine game is played. A sideways oblongarea 92 is displayed on the display screen 93. Three longwiserectangular areas (slots) 91 are displayed in the area 92. Three symbols90 can be displayed vertically within each slot 91. That is, a maximumof nine symbols (three rows x three columns) are displayed on thedisplay screen 93.

When a game is started, display is made in each slot 91 as if thesymbols 90 were drawn continuously on each reel and the reels rotated.When the game end is specified, the rotation display is terminated andthe three symbols 90 are displayed in each slot. If the same symbols 90are displayed at a position determined in each slot in response to theinput amount of money, the completed symbols 90 are highlighted and apoint is added. The determined position is previously defined as ahorizontal row only at the intermediate stages of the slots, forexample, when one coin is input, a horizontal row at any of upper,intermediate, and lower stages when two coins are input, or a horizontalrow at any of upper, intermediate, and lower stages or a slant row whenthree coins are input.

As shown in FIG. 3, the display unit 10 of the gaming machine 1according to the embodiment has the six display areas: An upper gamename display area 36 and an upper score display area 37 above the gameimage display unit 11, and a lower game name display area 34, a lowerscore display area 35, an input remaining amount display area 32, and agame remaining amount display area 33 below the game image display unit11.

The input remaining amount display area 32 is an area for displaying theremaining amount of the input money not yet spent for playing games. Thegame remaining amount display area 33 is an area for displaying theremaining amount of money specified to be used for playing games. Eachof the lower and upper game name display areas 34 and 36 is an area fordisplaying the specified game type name. Each of the lower and upperscore display areas 35 and 37 is an area for displaying the game score.The display areas 32 to 37 are provided by liquid crystal displaydevices in the embodiment. A part of one liquid crystal display screenmay be used as the game image display unit 11 and the remaining displayportion may provide the six display areas.

The operation section 5 consisting of a slant plane 3 and a verticalplane 4 on the front of the bottom is provided below the game imagedisplay unit 11; it comprises various operation components. Theoperation components placed on the slant plane 3 include a main switch21, game switches 22, a setting switch 23, a cancel switch 24, gameamount selection switches 25, a handle 26, an adjustment switch 27,number-of-input-coins selection switched 28, a card inlet/outlet 29, abill slot 30, and a coin slot 31. The input remaining amount displayarea 32, the game remaining amount display area 33, the lower game namedisplay area 34, and the lower score display area 35, which are displayareas of the display unit, 10 are also provided on the slant plane 3.The operation components provided on the vertical plane 4 include gameend switches 38 and a loudspeaker 39.

If a touch section is provided, all or some of the operation switches onthe operation section 5 (the main switch 21, game switches 22, settingswitch 23, cancel switch 24, game amount selection switches 25, handle26, adjustment switch 27, number-of-input-coins selection switches 28,and game end switches 38) can also be defined as an area on the onetouch section.

In this case, all or some of the switches may be previously defined onthe touch section, but the switches to be defined may be changed inresponse to the operation progress condition and the game type. Forexample, first the game type selection switches are defined as an inputarea on the touch section, and when a touch of the area is sensed, theswitch input is accepted. When a player specifies the game type, thenthe switches required for the player to specify an amount of money spentfor the game to play are defined as an input area on the touch section.When the player specifies the amount of money, the game progress andstop switches are defined as an input area on the touch section. Whenthe player ends the game, an adjustment switch is defined. Thus, theswitches may be defined on the touch section in response to theoperation progress condition in such a manner.

The switches defined on the touch section can also be changed inresponse to the type of game to be played. That is, for slot machine orpinball games for which the main switch 21 and the game switches 22 arenot used, definition of these switches 21 and 22 may be skipped, and forgames for which only the main switch 21 is used without using the gameswitches 22, the handle 26, or the game end switches 38, definition ofthese switches 22, 26, and 38 may be omitted.

Next, the switches, etc., on the operation section 5 will be discussed.

The switches used for accepting selection of the type of game to beplayed are the setting switch 23 and the cancel switch 24. Players usethe setting switch 23 to enter final specification of a game during agame selection operation, and use the cancel switch 24 to change gamespecifications during the game selection operation.

The switches for accepting input concerning video game progress are themain switch 21 and the game switches 22. The main switch 21 is providedto accept input of commands for moving a cursor and characters,scrolling the screen, etc., during game operation. The main switch 21 ismainly used when video games are played. The main switch 21 is also usedto move the cursor during the game selection operation. The embodimentuses a roll ball as the main switch 21, but the main switch can also bemade of an input device such as a joystick or a fixed mouse. The gameswitches 22 are used as auxiliary switches of the main switch 21 when agame is being played; in the embodiment, two game switches are provided.

The switches used for game operation in pinball or slot machine gamesare the handle 26 and the game end switches 38. The handle 26 serves asa pinball propelling handle when players play pinball games; itfunctions as a game start switch when players play slot machine games.If the specified game is a slot machine game, the game end switches 38are used to accept a command for ending the game, namely, stopping reelrotation display in the slots.

The gaming machine 1 of the embodiment has a game progress function inresponse to the input of money. The game amount selection switch 25 is aswitch for accepting specification of the amount of money to be spentfor the game to be played. The adjustment switch 27 is a switch foraccepting an adjustment process command at the game end. When receivingan input from the adjustment switch 27 via the game interface 16, thegame controller 14 performs an adjustment process described below. Whenplayers input gaming medals or coins (hereinafter only referred tocoins) for playing a game, the number-of-input-coins selection switched28 serves as a switch for accepting specification of the number of coinsto be spent for the game to be played.

The gaming machine 1 of the embodiment can accept input of money in anyform, namely a prepaid card, coins, or bills. To accept input of money,the gaming machine 1 is provided with the card inlet/outlet 29, the coinslot 31, and the bill slot 30.

The card inlet/outlet 29, which is used to receive and dispense aprepaid card used in place of cash or to dispense an adjustment card, isconnected to the card processor 5a (not shown in FIG. 3) provided in thegaming machine. The card processor 5a has a magnetic card drive havingread and write functions, for example; it reads the amount data recordedon a magnetic card input through the card inlet/outlet 29 and sends itto the game controller 14 at the appropriate time. At the time ofadjustment, it has a function of writing data of the remaining amount,the number of finally won pinballs, etc., onto the card and thendispensing the card.

The card processor 5a contains a magnetic card stack section (not shown)for holding a plurality of magnetic cards and a card dispensingmechanism (not shown). If a game is started with only cash or gamingmedals input without a magnetic card, at the time of adjustment the dataof the remaining amount, the number of finally won pinballs, etc., canbe written onto one of the magnetic cards held in the stack section andthe card then dispensed.

The card processor 5a allows not only magnetic cards, but also receiptsor the like on which data is visually recorded, to be used asinput/output media. For example, a card processor may be used which usesmagnetic cards only as card-like recording media for inputting amountdata and receipts or the like on which data is printed, or foroutputting data of the number of finally won pinballs. Also, a cardprocessor may be used which uses recyclable cards on which characters,etc., can be represented and erased as a result of a temperature change(cards proposed by the applicant in Japanese Patent Application No. Hei3-260879) as card-like recording media.

The bill slot 30 and the coin slot 31, which are provided for players toinput bills and coins for playing games, are connected to the moneyprocessor 5b (not shown in FIG. 3) provided in the gaming machine. Themoney processor 5b has a validator (not shown) for determining thedenomination and number of coins inserted through the coin slot 31 and avalidator (not shown) for determining the denomination and number ofbills inserted through the bill slot 30. Each time a coin or bill isinput, the money processor 5b sends a signal corresponding to thedenomination of the coin or bill to the game controller 14, which thenuses it as data required for calculating the input amount of money.

In this case, the slot 31 is a slot for coins and the slot 30 is a slotfor bills and the validator is provided for each of the slots. Inputbills are stored in the gaming machine in the embodiment, but atransport line of bills, etc., may be disposed on the rear of the gamingmachine 1 for automatically transporting them to a stacker, a moneychanging machine, etc., placed at the end of a row of gaming machines onthe transport line.

The loudspeaker 39 produces a sound effect during a game or a beepingsound or the like for informing the player that an input error has beenmade, etc., during game selection and the like. Preferably, theloudspeaker 39 produces a sound so as not to disturb other players. Forexample, it may be placed at the side of a player's head or attached toa seat.

Not all of the operation components need necessarily be provided on thegaming machine 1. For example, they may be mounted on a separateoperation box that can be taken out from the armrest of a player's seattoward the player, namely, a remote control system may be adopted.

The gaming machine 1 may take a form in which almost all of the frontportions, except for a vertical plane 2a on the top providing the uppergame name display area 36 and the upper score display area 37, areinclined forward, as shown in FIG. 6. In this case, the game imagedisplay unit 11 can also be formed on the inclined plane 2b on thefront. Such a form would enable players to easily view the game imagedisplay unit depending on the lighting position, the gaming machinesize, etc.

Next, the components of the centralized controller 50 will be discussed.

The centralized controller 50 has a controller 41 and an input/outputunit 42, as shown in FIG. 2. The controller 41 has a memory 52 and a CPU43 which comprises a communication controller 51, a game monitor section53, a degree-of-difficulty adjustment section 54, and a gaming machinetermination controller 55.

The memory 52 has a storage area of history data of each gamingmachine 1. The history data is provided by accumulating data of the typeof game played, execution time, score, degree of difficulty, determineddegree-of-difficulty change value, etc., and data as to whether or notthe gaming machine is terminated for each game. Further, the memory 52has a termination gaming machine table storage area in which terminatedgaming machines are registered. The memory 52 also has a terminationlimit value storage area which stores the termination limit value usedfor determining whether or not the gaming machine is to be terminatedfor each game type, a degree-of-difficulty setting flag storage areawhich stores a degree-of-difficulty setting flag indicating that adegree-of-difficulty setup value is set, an area which stores thedegree-of-difficulty setup value to set the degree of difficulty, anarea which stores the degree-of-difficulty upper limit value used fordetermining whether or not the gaming machine is to be terminated, andan area which stores a reference score used to find adegree-of-difficulty change value. The memory 52 also holds data usedfor operations carried out by the game monitor section 53, thedegree-of-difficulty adjustment section 54, and the gaming machinetermination controller 55. For example, the data includes information asto which of the time and score the termination limit value isrepresented by. The game monitor section 53 registers and readsinformation in and from the memory 52. The input/output unit 42 has aten-key numerical pad board 56, a display unit 57, and a printer 58.

FIG. 20 shows an example of the history data. In the embodiment, thehistory data storage area comprises a number-of-game-play-times storagearea 200, a game type storage area 201, and a large number of game datastorage areas 207. Each game data storage area 207 consists of a scorestorage field 202, a play start time storage field 203, a play end timestorage field 204, and a degree-of-difficulty storage field 205. Data isstored in as many game data storage areas 207 as the number of times agame has been played, held in the number-of-game-play-times storage area200 (123 times in the example shown in FIG. 20). The initial value 0 isstored in the remaining game data storage areas 207.

The communication controller 51, which is connected to the gamecontroller 14 of each gaming machine 1 via the line 9 for communication,performs communication control, such as necessary signal formatconversion, for transferring signals such as commands and data to andfrom the gaming machines 1.

The game monitor section 53 receives information about game conditions,etc., via the communication controller 51 from the game controller 14 ofeach gaming machine 1, and sends the information to thedegree-of-difficulty adjustment section 54 or the gaming machinetermination controller 55. When receiving a game degree-of-difficultychange value from the degree-of-difficulty adjustment section 54, thegame monitor section 53 sends the degree-of-difficulty change value viathe communication controller 51 to the gaming machine 1 for which thedegree of difficulty is to be changed. When receiving a command forterminating the game from the gaming machine termination controller 55,the game monitor section 53 instructs the corresponding gaming machine 1to terminate the current game being played.

The degree-of-difficulty adjustment section 54 determines the gamedegree-of-difficulty change value based on the game conditioninformation received from the game monitor section 53, and sends it tothe game controller 14.

The gaming machine termination controller 55 determines whether or notthe game is to be terminated, based on the game condition informationreceived from the game monitor section 53, and sends the determinationresult to the game monitor section 53.

The game monitor section 53, the degree-of-difficulty adjustment section54, and the gaming machine termination controller 55 can be provided bya microcomputer comprising a CPU, ROM, and RAM, for example.

The ten-key numerical pad board 56 is a device capable of acceptinginput of numeric values of 0-9. The embodiment uses the keyboard havingten keys 0-9, but any other input device such as a mouse or a light penmay be used. If the display unit 57 is used as a touch section and aninput area is previously defined for enabling numerical value input, theten-key numerical pad board 56 as in the embodiment need not beprovided.

The display unit 57, which has a liquid crystal display screen, outputsinformation to the screen as instructed by the game monitor section 53.It can also be used as a touch section, as described above. The displayunit 57 may use other display screens such as a CRT.

The printer 58 is a device for printing out information as instructed bythe game monitor section 53. Either of the display unit 57 and theprinter 58 may be omitted. To omit the display unit 57, all outputinformation from the game monitor section 53 should be printed out onthe printer 58. However, if the display unit 57 is omitted, informationwhich need not be saved is also printed out, making informationdifficult to see and wasting paper. If the printer 58 is omitted, outputinformation cannot be saved. Therefore, both devices are providedpreferably.

I. Process flow of gaming machine 1

Next, a process flow of the gaming machine 1 will be described. FIG. 10is a flowchart showing a process outline of the game controller 14.

(1) Input amount determination process (step 100)

The game controller 14 determines the amount of money that can be spentfor the game to be played using an input amount determination process atstep 100. The amount of money means the amount of money input by meansof bills, coins, or a card, or the number of game play media such asgaming medals.

FIG. 11 shows a flow of the input amount determination process. The gamecontroller 14 displays a message, indicating a wait for a player toinput an amount of money, on the game image display unit 11 through theimage display controller 15 at step 110. At this time, the gamecontroller 14 displays the input remaining amount, game remaining amountand score in the input remaining amount display area 32, the gameremaining amount display area, and upper and lower score display areas37, 35, respectively, on the display unit 10. The initial valuesdisplayed in the areas are 0.

Next, the game controller 14 waits for receipt of the input amount andinput score from the card processor 5a or receipt of the input amountfrom the money processor 5b. Then, the game controller 14 totals theinput amounts and the input score received within a given time at step111, adds the sum of the input amounts to the input remaining amount atstep 118, and adds the score to the total score at step 119.

When a predetermined magnetic card is inserted into the cardinlet/outlet 29 on the operation section 5, the card processor 5a readsthe amount of money and the score registered on the inserted magneticcard. When detecting no input for a given time from the previous input,the card processor 5a totals the amounts of money input so far, andsends the sum to the game controller 14. When a player inserts either abill into the bill slot 30 or a coin into the coin slot 31, the moneyprocessor 5b senses the input amount of money. When detecting no inputfor a given time from the previous input, the money processor 5b totalsthe amounts of money input so far, and sends the sum to the gamecontroller 14. Input of the amount of money and score may be accepted atall times and added to the input remaining amount and the total score.

In the embodiment, a plurality of types of game are registered in thestorage 6 and a play charge is defined to be subtracted from the amountof money whenever the player plays one game. A play score is alsodefined to be subtracted from the total score whenever the player playsone game if the game amount of money is less than the play charge, andis registered in the storage 6. The one game refers to the time intervalfrom display of a pinball image to disappearance thereof for a pinballgame or from start of reel rotation to stop thereof for a slot machinegame, For other games, one game is previously defined for each gametype.

When receiving the information, the game controller 14 checks whether ornot the input amount of money is equal to or greater than the lowest oneof all registered game play charges at step 112. If it is greater thanthe lowest play charge, the game controller 14 sets the input amount asthe input remaining amount and displays the input remaining amount andthe total score in the remaining amount display area 32 and the upperand lower score display areas 37 and 35 on the display unit 10 at step117. If the total score is equal to or greater than the lowest playscore although the input amount is less than the lowest play charge, theembodiment allows the player to play a game. Then, if the total scoreinput is equal to or greater than the lowest play score at step 113, thegame controller 14 advances to step 117. If it is less than the lowestplay score, the game controller 14 displays a message indicating thatthe input amount is insufficient to play a game, on the game imagedisplay unit 11 through the image display controller 15 at step 114, andaccepts an input from the player through the game interface 16. If theplayer inputs a cancel command by pressing the cancel switch 24 or anadjustment command by pressing the adjustment switch 27 at step 115, itmeans that the player abandons playing a game. Then, the game controller14 performs an adjustment process at step 116 and returns to the initialstate at step 110. If neither a cancel command nor an adjustment commandis input, the game controller 14 returns to step 110, to wait for aplayer to input an amount of money.

FIG. 14 shows the adjustment process. In the adjustment process, thegame controller 14 adds the game remaining amount to the input remainingamount at step 140 and sets the game remaining amount to the initialvalue 0 at step 141. Further, the game controller 14 causes the cardprocessor 5a to register (magnetically record or print) the inputremaining amount after the addition, and the score, on a predeterminedcard (if the player inputs a card in place of cash, on that card; if theplayer does not input a card, on a card held in the card stack sectionof the card processor 5a) at step 142, sets the input remaining amountand the total score to the initial values 0 at step 143, and causes thecard processor 5a to dispense the card through the card inlet/outlet 29at step 144. Lastly, the game controller 14 informs the centralizedcontroller 50 that adjustment has been made at step 145. At this time,data of the total score, the adjustment time, the time for which thegaming machine 1 was occupied, etc., may be sent to the centralizedcontroller 50. At the time of adjustment, a system charge may becollected from the score or input remaining amount.

The embodiment allows the player to exchange the dispensed card for aprize or to input the card to another gaming machine 1 for again playinga game. The game controller 14 also performs processing similar to theadjustment process mentioned above in the adjustment process describedin the game remaining amount and degree-of-difficulty update process(step 1030) below.

(2) Game remaining amount determination process (step 101)

When the input remaining amount and the score are determined, the gamecontroller 14 performs a game remaining amount determination process atstep 101.

FIG. 12 shows the game remaining amount determination process. First,the game controller 14 accepts the amount of money spent for playing agame, specified by a player operating the game amount selection switch25 via the game interface 16. The game controller 14 checks whether ornot the input game amount is equal to or greater than the lowest playcharge at step 121. If it is less than the lowest play charge, the gamecontroller 14 checks whether or not the total score is equal to orgreater than the lowest play score at step 122. If it is less than thelowest play score, the game controller 14 displays a message indicatingthat the game amount is insufficient to play a game on the game imagedisplay unit 11 through the image display controller 15 at step 123, andreturns to step 120.

At step 124, if the input game amount is equal to or greater than thelowest play charge, the game controller 14 checks whether or not thegame amount is equal to or less than the input remaining amountdetermined at step 100. If it is equal to or less than the inputremaining amount, the game controller 14 sets the game amount as thegame remaining amount and subtracts the game amount from the inputremaining amount at step 125. If the game amount is greater than theinput remaining amount, the game controller 14 sets the input remainingamount as the game remaining amount and sets the input remaining amountto 0 at step 126. In either case, the game controller 14 finallydisplays the game remaining amount and the input remaining amount in thegame remaining amount display area 33 and the input remaining amountdisplay area 32.

(3) Game selection process (step 102)

Next, the game controller performs a game selection process foraccepting selection of a game to be played at step 102. FIG. 13 shows aflow of the game selection process.

First, the game controller searches the game memory 12 in which gamesare registered for types of games that can be played within the gameamount (game remaining amount) determined in the game remaining amountdetermination process at step, 101 and total score and displays a menuof the games that can be played (a list of the game names) and a cursoror the like for pointing to a specific game on the menu on the gameimage display unit 11 through the image display controller 15 at step130.

When sensing that the player handles the main switch 21 on the operationsection 5 via the game interface 16, the game controller 14 moves theposition (game name) pointed to by the cursor to the side where the mainswitch 21 is operated and when the player operates the setting switch23, the game controller 14 judges that the game pointed to by the cursoris selected at step 131.

Next, the game controller 14 displays the specified game name in theupper and lower game name display areas 36 and 34 on the display unit 10at step 132, reads the program of the selected game from the game memory12 at step 133, and displays a predetermined initial screen of the gameat step 134. If the selected program is for pinball games, for example,the initial screen provides a pinball base board image as shown in FIG.8; if the selected program is for slot machine games, for example, theinitial screen provides a slot image as shown in FIG. 9. There are alsopredetermined initial screens for other video games.

When detecting via the game interface 16 the player pressing the cancelswitch 24 before operating the handle 26 or the like for specifying thegame start at step 135, the game controller 14 returns control to step130 for repeating the game selection process at step 136, whereby theplayer can see the initial screens before determining which game toplay, and again select a game from the beginning. The game controller 14accepts a game start command via the game interface 16 when the playeroperates the handle 26 for pinball and slot machine games or when theplayer operates the switch determined for each game type for other videogames.

If the player specifies the game start before pressing the cancel switch24 as a cancel command at step 135, the game controller 14 assigns theinitial value 0 to the degree-of-difficulty change value used to changethe degree of difficulty in playing a game at step 137 and sets thedegree of difficulty to the initial value determined for each game typeat step 138.

(4) Game remaining amount and degree-of-difficulty update process (steps1031-1038)

When the player selects the game type and specifies the game start, thegame controller 14 updates the game remaining amount and the degree ofdifficulty at steps 1031 to 1038.

First, the game controller 14 checks whether or not the game remainingamount is equal to or greater than the play charge of the selected gameat step 1031. If it is equal to or greater than the play charge, thegame controller 14 subtracts the 1- game play charge from the gameremaining amount and displays the updated game remaining amount in thegame remaining amount display area 33 at step 1038, then adds thedegree-of-difficulty change value to the degree of difficulty forsetting a new degree of difficulty at step 1039.

If the game remaining amount is less than the play charge, the gamecontroller 14 checks whether or not the total score is greater than orequal to the play score of the selected game at step 1032. If the totalscore is equal to or greater than the play score, the game controller 14subtracts the play score from the total score and displays the updatedtotal score in the upper and lower score display areas 37 and 35 at step1037, then advances to step 1039 described above. If the total score isless than the play score, the player cannot play the selected game.Then, the game controller 14 displays a message indicating that the gameremaining amount is insufficient to play the game on the game imagedisplay unit 11. It also displays a game selection change, game amountchange, input amount change, adjustment, and cursor as a menu for thesubsequent process and accepts cursor move commands from the main switchon the operation section 5 and a selection determination from thesetting switch 23 at step 1033 as in the game selection acceptance atstep 131 in the game selection process.

If the selected menu item is the game selection change, the gamecontroller 14 returns control to step 102 at step 1034; if it is thegame amount change, returns control to step 101 at step 1035; if it isthe input amount change, returns control to step 100 at step 1036; or ifit is the adjustment, performs an adjustment process at step 1030, thenreturns control to step 100.

(5) Game execution (steps 104-106)

Upon determination of the degree of difficulty at step 1039, the gamecontroller 14 uses the determined degree of difficulty to execute onegame of the selected type at step 104. The game controller 14 keeps thegame execution start time and end time.

In execution of one game, if the selected game is a pinball game, thegame controller 14, when detecting the player rotating the handle 26through the game interface 16, displays the moving image of a pinballpropelled at the speed corresponding to the rotation amount on thepinball base board displayed on the game image display unit 11 at step134 of the game selection process until the pinball image disappearsfrom the base board. At this time, the degree of difficulty is used todetermine the probability of entering a special win condition if thepinball image enters the hole of the win effect indication 84b; it ispreviously defined by the game program so that the higher the degree ofdifficulty, the lower the probability. The number of holes, which allowsthe special win condition to be entered if the pinball image enters thehole, may be increased according to the degree of difficulty.

On the other hand, if the selected program is a slot machine game, thegame controller 14 displays reel images in the slots displayed on thegame image display unit 11 at step 134, and when detecting the playerpressing the handle 26 through the game interface 16, displays a movingpicture on which the drums rotate. When detecting the player operatingthe game end switch 38, the game controller 14 stops the moving pictureof the rotating drums. In the slot machine game, the position at which ascore is added when a predetermined symbol pattern is completed (onehorizontal row at the middle stage, one horizontal row at the top,middle, or bottom stage, or one slant row) is defined depending on thenumber of input coins (or equivalent amount of money or score). In theslot machine game, the degree of difficulty is used to determine thesymbol pattern occurrence frequency. It is previously defined by thegame program so that the higher the degree of difficulty, the lower theoccurrence frequency.

If a game like a general video game is selected, the game controller 14displays the game image on the game image display unit 11, and makes theprogrammed game progress in response to the player operating theswitches predetermined for each game type. Use of the degree ofdifficulty is previously defined for each game type; it is used todetermine variables defined for each game type, for example, the numberof player home balls (the higher the degree of difficulty, the fewer thenumber of home balls), frequency of attack from an enemy (the higher thedegree of difficulty, the higher the attack frequency), enemy characterlife force (the higher the degree of difficulty, the greater the numberof attack times needed to defeat the enemy), player character life force(the higher the degree of difficulty, the fewer is the number of attacktimes needed for the player army to be defeated by the enemy), attackeffect (the higher the degree of difficulty, the narrower the hitrange), etc., in shooting games. In puzzle games in which problems areregistered for each degree of difficulty, one of a number of puzzlesregistered as having the determined degree of difficulty is extracted atrandom. Alternatively, in puzzle games, the time limit for solving agiven puzzle may be changed so that the higher the degree of difficulty,the shorter the time limit.

In the game execution, if the player gains some points, the gamecontroller 14 adds the gained points to the total score and displays thenew total score in the upper and lower score display areas 37 and 35 onthe display unit 10 at step 105. The played 1-game score and the totalscore may be displayed in the upper and lower score display areas 37 and35 respectively.

Next, the game controller 14 informs the centralized controller 50 ofthe game progress conditions of the selected game type, the currentdegree of difficulty, the game start time, the game end time, and thescore of the game gained by the player. When receiving the information,the centralized controller 50 returns a degree-of-difficulty changevalue or a termination instruction to the game controller 14 of thegaming machine 1. If the game controller 14 receives thedegree-of-difficulty change value, it sets the value returned from thecentralized controller 50 as a new degree-of-difficulty change value; ifthe game controller 14 receives no degree-of-difficulty change value, itsets the initial value 0 as a new degree-of-difficulty change value atstep 106. This query and response sequence to and from the centralizedcontroller 50 may be performed every given number of times, for example,once every 10 times, rather than every game. In this case, the progressconditions of games played the given number of times are stored in thestorage.

On the other hand, if the game controller 14 receives the terminationinstruction at step 107, it displays a termination message such as"TERMINATION" or "GIVE UP . . . " on the game image display unit 11 atstep 1071, performs adjustment processing at step 1030, and returnscontrol to the initial state (step 100).

When no termination instruction is given, if the player inputs anadjustment command by operating the adjustment switch 27 at step 108,the game controller 14 performs adjustment processing at step 1030, andreturns control to the initial state (step 100); if the player inputs acancel command by operating the cancel switch 24 at step 109, the gamecontroller 14 returns control to the game remaining amount determinationprocess (step 101). If the player handles any other switch such as thegame switch 22 or the handle 26, the game controller 14 returns controlto step 1031 for enabling the player to repeat playing a game so long asthe game remaining amount or the total score satisfies the play chargeor the play score.

II. Process flow of centralized controller 50

Next, a process flow of the centralized controller 50 will be discussed.In the centralized controller 50, the game monitor section 53 uses inputdata from each gaming machine 1 or the input/output unit 42 to performcentralized management processing for the gaming machines 1. FIG. 19shows a process flow of the game monitor section 53.

In the initial state, the game monitor section 53 waits for input fromeach gaming machine 1 or the input/output unit 42 at step 190. Whenreceiving input from a gaming machine 1 at step 191, the game monitorsection 53 checks whether or not the input is an adjustment command atstep 192. If it is an adjustment command, the game monitor section 53initializes the history data of the gaming machine 1 in the memory 52.

If it is not an adjustment command, the game monitor section 53 checkswhether or not the game type in the history data held in the memory 52matches the game type contained in the input data at step 194. If thegame type remains the same, the game monitor section 53 performs agaming machine input data corresponding process at step 196 and returnsto the initial state (step 190). If the game type is changed, the gamemonitor section 53 initializes the history data of the gaming machine 1in the memory 52 at step 195 and goes to step 196.

If the input data is not data from any gaming machine 1, it is input formanaging a gaming machine 1, performed by an administrator through theinput/output unit 42. Then, the game monitor section 53 executes agaming machine management process at step 197 and returns to the initialstate (step 190).

(1) Gaming machine input data corresponding process (step 196)

FIG. 15 shows a process in which the game monitor section 53 receives agame condition signal from the game controller 14 of each gaming machine1 through the communication controller 51 and returns adegree-of-difficulty change value or a termination instruction to eachgaming machine 1 through the communication controller 51.

First, the game monitor section 53 receives input data of the selectedgame type, the current degree of difficulty, the game start time, thegame end time, and the score of the game gained by a player from thegame controller 14 of a gaming machine 1 at step 150, and reads thetermination limit value, which is predetermined for each game type andheld in a termination limit value storage area (not shown) in the memory52, the degree-of-difficulty maximum value, which is predetermined foreach game type and held in a degree-of-difficulty maximum value storagearea (not shown) in the memory 52, and a termination gaming machinetable, which registers the gaming machine to be terminated and is heldin a termination gaming machine table storage area (not shown) in thememory 52, at step 151. Which of the score (the limit value isrepresented by the score) and the playing time found by calculation fromthe start time and end time (the limit value is represented by the time)the termination is determined by is previously defined for each gametype. In the embodiment, termination in games such as pinball and slotmachine games is determined by the score; termination in games such assome shooting games and puzzle games is determined by the time.

Next, the game monitor section 53 causes the gaming machine terminationcontroller 55 to determine whether or not the gaming machine is to beterminated at step 152. When terminating the gaming machine, the gamingmachine termination controller 55 returns 1 to the argument; when notterminating the gaming machine, it returns 0 to the argument. The gamemonitor section 53 uses the argument to judge whether or not the gamingmachine is determined to be terminated at step 153.

When the gaming machine is determined to be terminated, namely, when 1is returned to the argument, the game monitor section 53 sets atermination instruction at step 158 and advances to step 156 forreturning it through the communication controller 51 to the gamecontroller 14 of the gaming machine 1 sending the input data.

When the gaming machine is not determined to be terminated, namely, i.e.when 0 is returned to the argument, the game monitor section 53 maychange the degree of difficulty. Then, the game monitor section 53causes the degree-of-difficulty adjustment section 54 to determine adegree-of-difficulty change value at step 154, sets the determineddegree-of-difficulty change value at step 155, and returns it throughthe communication controller 51 to the game controller 14 of the gamingmachine 1 sending the input data at step 156. The game monitor section53 may previously determine whether or not the degree of difficultyneeds to be changed and if it need not be changed, the determination ofthe degree-of-difficulty change value by the degree-of-difficultyadjustment section 54 may be skipped. The degree-of-difficulty changevalue may be determined each time a game has been played a given numberof times rather than determination of the change value each time a gameis played once. Further, the game controller 14 of each gaming machine 1may determine whether or not the gaming machine 1 is to be terminatedand send the determination result to the centralized controller, inwhich case the determination by the gaming machine terminationcontroller 55 is not required.

After returning the instruction or value, the game monitor section 53stores the score, the degree of difficulty, and the game start time andend time in the memory 52 at step 157 as the history data of the gamingmachine 1 sending the input data. The determination result may be outputto both or either of the display unit 57 and the printer 58; forexample, if a termination instruction is given, it may be output to theprinter 58. Any other data, such as the degree-of-difficulty changevalue and presence or absence of termination, may be stored. In theembodiment, when adjustment is made or when the type of game played ischanged, the history data stored so far is initialized, but the historydata may be output to the printer 58 at the time of initialization.Instead of outputting to the printer 58, an external storage unit suchas a floppy disk drive may be connected for storing the history data onthe external storage unit, or a new save area for the history data maybe provided in the memory for storing the history data. If the historydata is thus stored after the game type change or adjustment, data ofthe game type change time, adjustment time, presence or absence oftermination, etc., may be added.

(2) Degree-of-difficulty change value determination process(degree-of-difficulty adjustment section 54)

Next, the degree-of-difficulty change value determination process of thedegree-of-difficulty adjustment section 54 described above will bediscussed. This process is performed in response to an inquiry made bythe game monitor section 53 at step 152.

The degree-of-difficulty change value determination process ispreviously defined for each game type. For example, making the totalscore gained at a game played a given number of times (or the total playtime) constant is possible as a degree-of-difficulty change valuedetermination reference. FIG. 17 shows the degree-of-difficulty changevalue determination process in which the degree-of-difficulty changevalue is determined using the score as the reference and the degree ofdifficulty is used to determine the win probability in games such aspinball and slot machine games, for example.

First, the degree-of-difficulty adjustment section 54 checks whether ornot a degree-of-difficulty setup value is set by a gaming machinemanagement process (described below) at step 170. If it is set (thedegree-of-difficulty setting flag in the memory 52 is set to 1), itindicates that the administrator instructs the degree of difficulty tobe set to the degree-of-difficulty setup value. Then, thedegree-of-difficulty adjustment section 54 subtracts the current degreeof difficulty from the degree-of-difficulty setup value and sets theresult as the degree-of-difficulty change value at step 176.

If no degree-of-difficulty setup value is set (the degree-of-difficultysetting flag in the memory 52 is set to 0), the degree-of-difficultyadjustment section 54 reads the history data (shown in FIG. 20) of thegaming machine 1 stored in the memory 52 through the game monitorsection 53 at step 171. The history data contains the number of gameplay times held in the number-of-game-play-times storage area 200. Ifthe number of game play times is less than 19 at step 172, thedegree-of-difficulty adjustment section 54 sets the degree-of-difficultychange value to 0 at step 175, and returns control to the game monitorsection 53.

If the number of game play times is equal to or greater than 19, thedegree-of-difficulty totals adjustment section 54 the scores of the 19most recent game plays of the game type held in the game data storageareas 207 of the history data storage area 207, and adds the scorecontained in the input data from the gaming machine 1 to the total tofind the total score of 20 game plays at step 173. Next, subtracts areference score predetermined for each game type and held in the memory52 from the total score of the 20 game plays, divides the difference by20, sets the result (decimals are rounded up) as thedegree-of-difficulty change value at step 174, and returns control tothe game monitor section 53.

Since the degree-of-difficulty change value is determined by using thereference score as the reference in pinball and slot machine games inthe embodiment as described above, the reference score can be changedfor changing the degrees of difficulty of all gaming machines 1connected to the centralized controller by one operation.

The degree-of-difficulty change value determination process has beendiscussed as an example, and any other method for determining thedegree-of-difficulty change value can be used. For example,degree-of-difficulty change values may be previously registered in thememory 52 as a table and one of the degree-of-difficulty change valuescan be selected out of the table in response to the input score, etc.

Although the degree-of-difficulty change value is determined by thescore, etc., in the embodiment, it may be determined by the number ofwins rather than the score, and the score (score rate) given to a playerfor one winning game play may be increased as the degree of difficultyrises. In this case, the number of wins needs to be contained in theinput data from each gaming machine 1. When a game is played at thegaming machine 1, the change of the score rate needs to be considered.

(3) Termination determination process (gaming machine terminationcontroller 55)

FIG. 16 shows a flow of a termination determination process performed bythe gaming machine termination controller 55. This process is executedin response to an inquiry made by the game monitor section 53 at step157 described above.

First, the gaming machine termination controller 55 sets the argumentvalue to 0 at step 160, then checks whether or not the gaming machine 1to be processed is registered in the termination gaming machine table atstep 161 and if it is registered, returns argument 1 to the game monitorsection 53 at step 162. If it is not registered, the gaming machinetermination controller 55 checks whether or not the input degree ofdifficulty matches the degree-of-difficulty maximum value predeterminedfor each game type at step 163. If the degree of difficulty does notmatch the degree-of-difficulty maximum value, the gaming machinetermination controller 55 makes the argument remain 0 and returnscontrol to the game monitor section 53.

If they match, the gaming machine termination controller 55 checkswhether or not the game is a game whose termination is to be determinedby the score at step 164. If the game is a game whose termination is tobe determined by the score, the gaming machine termination controller 55checks whether or not the score input through the gaming machine 1 isequal to or less than the termination limit value at step 165 and onlywhen the score is greater than the limit value, stores 1 in the argumentat step 167. If the game is not a game whose termination is to bedetermined by the score, the gaming machine termination controller 55checks whether or not the game execution time input through the gamingmachine 1 is equal to or less than the termination limit value at step166 and only when the game execution time is longer than the limitvalue, advances to step 167 and stores 1 in the argument. In eithercase, control is returned to the game monitor section 53.

(4) Gaming machine management process (step 197)

In the input wait state at step 190 described above, a managementprocess menu is displayed on the display unit 57 of the input/outputunit 42. The game monitor section 53 accepts an input of the numberassigned to a management item listed on the menu by an administratorthrough the ten-key numerical pad 56. The game monitor section 53 has afunction of controlling each gaming machine with the input from theinput unit 42 by the administrator as a trigger. FIG. 18 shows a flow ofthe control. The menu items in the embodiment include six items oftermination registration, termination limit value change,degree-of-difficulty setting, degree-of-difficulty setting cancel,degree-of-difficulty upper limit change, and reference score change, butother items may also be provided.

First, if the input item is the termination registration at step 180,the game monitor section 53 accepts the registration number, which isassigned to each gaming machine, of the gaming machine 1 to beterminated at step 1801, registers it in the termination gaming machinetable in the memory 52 at step 1802, and terminates the gaming machinemanagement process. A function of terminating all gaming machines 1 byone operation may be provided. In this case, a special flag forterminating all gaming machines 1 when a batch termination instructionis received may be stored in the termination gaming machine table and ifthe flag is set when the gaming machine termination controllerdetermines termination, the gaming machines may be terminatedunconditionally.

If the input item is the termination limit value change at step 181, thegame monitor section 53 accepts an input of a termination limit value atstep 1811. At this time, the termination limit value is determined foreach game type, thus the game monitor section 53 also accepts an inputof the game type for which the limit value is specified. Next, the gamemonitor section 53 stores the limit value in the termination limit valuestorage area corresponding to the specified game type in the memory 52at step 1812 and terminates the gaming machine management process.

If the input item is the degree-of-difficulty setting at step 182, thegame monitor section 53 accepts an input of a degree-of-difficulty setupvalue at step 1821. At this time, the degree-of-difficulty setup valueis determined for each game type, thus the game monitor section 53 alsoaccepts an input of the game type for which the value is specified.Next, the game monitor section 53 stores 1 in the degree-of-difficultysetting flag storage area in the memory 52 and at step 1822 stores thedegree-of-difficulty in the setup value degree-of-difficulty setup valuestorage area corresponding to the specified game type in the memory 52at step 1823 and terminates the gaming machine management process.

If the input item is the degree-of-difficulty setting cancel at step186, the game monitor section 53 stores 0 in the degree-of-difficultysetting flag storage area in the memory 52 at step 1861 and terminatesthe gaming machine management process.

If the input item is the degree-of-difficulty upper limit change at step183, the game monitor section 53 accepts an input of adegree-of-difficulty upper limit at step 1831. At this time, thedegree-of-difficulty upper limit is determined for each game type, thusthe game monitor section 53 also accepts an input of the game type forwhich the upper limit is specified. Next, the game monitor section 53stores the upper limit in the degree-of-difficulty upper limit storagearea corresponding to the specified game type in the memory 52 at step1832 and terminates the gaming machine management process.

If the input item is the reference score change at step 184, the gamemonitor section 53 accepts an input of a reference score at step 1841.At this time, the reference score is determined for each game type, thusthe game monitor section 53 also accepts an input of the game type forwhich the reference score is specified. Next, the game monitor section53 stores the reference score in the reference score storage areacorresponding to the specified game type in the memory 52 at step 1842and terminates the gaming machine management process.

If the administrator inputs anything other than these items, the gamemonitor section 53 displays an error message on the display unit 57 andterminates the gaming machine management process at step 185.

In the embodiment, the information stored in the memory 52 is updated,whereby when an inquiry about the degree-of-difficulty change value ismade at the game end, the update is returned. That is, in thetermination registration, when a registered gaming machine 1 makes aninquiry, a termination instruction is sent to the gaming machine 1through the communication controller 51. In the degree-of-difficultysetting, when any gaming machine 1 makes an inquiry, adegree-of-difficulty change value is sent to the gaming machine 1through the communication controller 51 so that the degree of difficultyof the game played at the gaming machine 1 becomes the specifieddegree-of-difficulty setup value. In the termination limit value change,degree-of-difficulty upper limit change, or reference score change, whenany gaming machine 1 makes an inquiry, the gaming machine terminationcontroller 55 and the degree-of-difficulty adjustment section 54 use theupdated values to determine whether or not the gaming machine is to beterminated and to adjust the degree-of-difficulty change value. However,without waiting for gaming machines 1 to make an inquiry about thedegree-of-difficulty change value, the specification contents may be setin the gaming machines immediately after the above-mentioned input ismade.

In the embodiment, the termination limit value change,degree-of-difficulty setting, degree-of-difficulty upper limit change,or reference score change is executed for all gaming machines 1 in abatch, but may be specified for each of the gaming machines 1. In thiscase, the setup value storage area of the termination limit value,degree-of-difficulty setup value, degree-of-difficulty upper limit, andreference score that can be specified for each gaming machine 1 isprovided. When setting is accepted, specification of a gaming machine 1is also accepted, and the setup values are stored in the storage areaassigned to the specified gaming machine 1. Then, the storage area foreach gaming machine 1 is referenced whenever necessary.

III. Features of the embodiment

Thus, the gaming system of the embodiment enables a player to playdifferent types of games at one gaming machine. The degree of difficultyof a game played at a gaming machine 1 is adjusted in response to thescore gained by the player, etc. Further, if the score exceeds aprescribed value although the degree of difficulty is the maximum value,the gaming machine 1 is terminated. Further, in the gaming system of theembodiment, information on termination, degree of difficulty, etc., ofgaming machines 1 can be input to the centralized controller 50 forbatch management.

Embodiment 2

Next, a second embodiment of the invention will be discussed. FIGS. 4and 5 respectively show the configuration of a gaming machine and theconfiguration of a centralized controller in a gaming system of theembodiment. Components identical with or similar to those previouslydescribed in the first embodiment are denoted by the same referencenumerals in FIGS. 4 and 5 and explanations will be omitted.

The gaming system of the embodiment is characterized by the fact thatgame programs are registered in the centralized controller 70 ratherthan in each gaming machine 61. Thus, various game programs areregistered in the centralized controller in a batch; when the system isconstructed, time and labor for registering the programs in each gamingmachine can be saved and management of program maintenance, registrationchange, etc., after the system construction is facilitated. Since it isnot necessary to provide the game memory 12 in the first embodiment forthe gaming machines 61, each gaming machine may have a small-capacitystorage.

The gaming machine 61 of the embodiment has a storage 6, which does nothave the game memory 12, as shown in FIG. 4. Instead, the centralizedcontroller 70 of the embodiment has a memory 52 provided with a gamememory 12a which stores various game programs, as shown in FIG. 5.

A game controller 14 of the gaming machine 61 of the embodiment requestsa game program from the centralized controller 70 instead of reading thegame program from the game memory 12 at step 133 (shown in FIG. 13) inthe game selection process (step 102). A game monitor section 53 of thecentralized controller 70 reads the game program from the game memory12a in response to the request input through a communication controllerand transmits the game program to the gaming machine 61 requesting it.

In the first and second embodiments, the memory storing the gameprograms is installed in either the gaming machine or the centralizedcontroller, but as a compromise between the configurations, both thegaming machine and the centralized controller may be provided with thegame program storing memory.

In this case, the game memory of the gaming machine preferably has asmall capacity and stores only popular and often executed programs andthe game memory of the centralized controller stores all programs andonly when the selected program is not stored in the game memory of thegaming machine, is it transmitted from the centralized controller. Thus,for frequently played games, the time required for transmitting the gameprograms can be saved, enabling players to play the games immediately,and compared with the case where all programs are registered in eachgaming machine, the memory capacity decreases as a whole and the timeand labor for program registration or maintenance is also reduced.

In the embodiments, the player can insert cash or a card into a gamingmachine for playing a game, but the player may pay out cash, etc., tothe administrator, who then operates the centralized controller forenabling the player to play a game at a specific gaming machine.Further, the player can also select a game by asking the administratorfor a desired game without operating the gaming machine, then theadministrator operates the centralized controller for enabling theplayer to play the game at a specific gaming machine.

What is claimed is:
 1. A gaming system comprising:a centralizedcontroller having a controller and a storage; and at least one gamingmachine connected to the centralized controller by a line, said gamingmachine comprising a controller for controlling said gaming machine, agame image display unit for outputting a game image, an operationsection for accepting various operation commands inputted by a playerfor playing a game, and a storage comprising a storage area for gameprograms, said controller of said gaming machine comprising: a gamecontroller for controlling a game; an image display controller foroutputting information, as instructed from said game controller, to saidgame image display unit; and a game interface for sending commandsinputted to said operation section to said game controller, saidoperation section having means for accepting selection of a game typeand informing said game controller of the selected game type, said gamecontroller comprising:means for determining a degree of difficulty inplaying a game; means for executing a game at the degree of difficulty;means for informing said centralized controller of game conditions;means for reading a game program previously stored in said storagecorresponding to the game of the type selected through said operationsection and executing it; means for requesting said centralizedcontroller to send the game program of the game of the type selected ifthe game program is not stored in the storage area for game programs insaid gaming machine; and means for executing the transmitted gameprogram, said storage of said centralized controller having a centralgame program storage area, said controller of said centralizedcontroller comprising:means for accepting input of a game condition;means responsive to the accepted game condition for determining adegree-of-difficulty change value used to determine the degree ofdifficulty; means for informing said game controller of the determineddegree-of-difficulty change value; and means responsive to the requestreceived from said game controller for reading the game programpreviously stored in the game program storage area of said centralizedcontroller and transmitting the game program to said game controller. 2.The gaming system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said centralizedcontroller further includes an input unit, whereinsaid storage of saidcentralized controller has a degree-of-difficulty setup value storagearea for registering a degree-of-difficulty setup value, and whereinsaid controller of said centralized controller further includes:meansfor determining a degree-of-difficulty change value so that the degreeof difficulty becomes a degree-of-difficulty setup value stored in saiddegree-of-difficulty setup value storage area; and means for acceptingspecification of a degree-of-difficulty setup value from said input unitand storing it in said degree-of-difficulty setup value storage area. 3.The gaming system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said centralizedcontroller further includes an input unit, whereinsaid storage of saidcentralized controller has: a termination gaming machine table forregistering the gaming machine to be terminated; and adegree-of-difficulty setup value storage area for registering adegree-of-difficulty setup value, wherein said controller of saidcentralized controller further includes:means responsive to the acceptedgame condition for determining whether or not the gaming machine is tobe terminated; means for sending a termination instruction to said gamecontroller in response to the determination of termination; means forsending a termination instruction to said game controller of the gamingmachine registered in said termination gaming machine table; means foraccepting specification of the gaming machine to be terminated from saidinput unit and registering the gaming machine in said termination gamingmachine table; means for determining a degree-of-difficulty change valueso that the degree of difficulty becomes a degree-of-difficulty setupvalue stored in said degree-of-difficulty setup value storage area; andmeans for accepting specification of a degree-of-difficulty setup valuefrom said input unit and storing it in said degree-of-difficulty setupvalue storage area, said game controller having means for terminatingsaid gaming machine upon receipt of the termination instruction, whereinsaid means for informing said centralized controller of game conditionsis means for informing said centralized controller of a game conditioncontaining at least one of either a score gained by a player playing agame or game playing time, said means for determining adegree-of-difficulty change value being means for determining thedegree-of-difficulty change value using a difference between at leastone of either the score or the game playing time contained in thereceived game condition and a predetermined reference value, said meansfor informing said centralized controller of game conditions being meansfor informing said centralized controller of a game condition containingat least one of a score gained by a player playing a game, game playingtime, and the degree of difficulty of the played game, said means fordetermining whether or not the gaming machine is to be terminated beingmeans for determining whether or not the gaming machine informing saidcentralized controller of the game condition is to be terminated bycomparing either the score or the game playing time with a predeterminedtermination limit value if the degree of difficulty matches apredetermined maximum value, wherein said storage of said gaming machinehas a game registration area which holds at least one predetermined gamename and play charges and play scores, which are predeterminedcorresponding to the game names, said game controller having means forinstructing said image display controller to output game names with apredetermined game amount of money to be spent equal to or greater thanthe play charge and those with a predetermined total score equal to orgreater than the play score, among the game names registered in saidgame registration area, and wherein said operation section has means foraccepting selection of the type of game to be played from among thegames outputted to said game image display unit by said image displaycontroller and informing said game controller of the selected game type,said game controller further including means for executing the game ofthe type selected.
 4. The gaming system as claimed in claim 1 whereinsaid means for informing said centralized controller of game conditionsis means for informing said centralized controller of a game conditioncontaining at least one of either a score gained by a player playing agame or game playing time, and whereinsaid means for determining adegree-of-difficulty change value is means for determining thedegree-of-difficulty change value using at least either the score or thegame playing time contained in the received game condition.
 5. Thegaming system as claimed in claim 4 wherein said means for determining adegree-of-difficulty change value is means for determining thedegree-of-difficulty change value using a difference between at leastone of either the score or the game playing time and a predeterminedreference value.
 6. A gaming system comprising:a centralized controllerhaving a controller and a storage; and at least one gaming machineconnected to the centralized controller by a line, said gaming machinecomprising a controller for controlling said gaming machine, a gameimage display unit for outputting a game image, and an operation sectionfor accepting various operation commands inputted by a player forplaying a game, said controller of said gaming machine comprising:a gamecontroller for controlling a game; an image display controller foroutputting information, as instructed from said game controller, to saidgame image display unit; and a game interface for sending commandsinputted to said operation section to said game controller, said gamecontroller comprising:means for determining a degree of difficulty inplaying a game; means for executing a game at the degree of difficulty;means for informing said centralized controller of game conditions; andmeans for terminating said gaming machine upon receipt of thetermination instruction from said centralized controller, said means forinforming said centralized controller of game conditions being means forinforming said centralized controller of a game condition containing atleast one of a score gained by a player playing a game, game playingtime, and the degree of difficulty of the played game, said controllerof said centralized controller comprising:means for accepting input of agame condition; means responsive to the accepted game condition fordetermining a degree-of-difficulty change value used to determine thedegree of difficulty; means for informing said game controller of thedetermined degree-of-difficulty change value; means responsive to theaccepted game condition for determining whether or not the gamingmachine is to be terminated; and means for sending a terminationinstruction to said game controller in response to the determination oftermination, said means for determining whether or not the gamingmachine is to be terminated being means for determining whether or notthe gaming machine informing said centralized controller of the gamecondition is to be terminated by comparing either the score or the gameplaying time with a predetermined termination limit value if the degreeof difficulty matches a predetermined maximum value.
 7. The gamingsystem as claimed in claim 6 wherein said centralized controller furtherincludes an input unit, whereinsaid storage of said centralizedcontroller has a termination gaming machine table for registering thegaming machine to be terminated, and wherein said controller of saidcentralized controller further includes:means for sending a terminationinstruction to said game controller of the gaming machine registered insaid termination gaming machine table; and means for acceptingspecification of the gaming machine to be terminated from said inputunit and registering the gaming machine in said termination gamingmachine table.
 8. A gaming system comprising:a centralized controllerhaving a controller and a storage, and at least one gaming machineconnected to the centralized controller by a line, said gaming machinecomprises a controller for controlling said gaming machine, a game imagedisplay unit for outputting a game image, an operation section foraccepting various operation commands inputted by a player for playing agame, and a storage comprising a game registration area, said gameregistration area being an area for holding at least one predeterminedgame name and play charges and play scores predetermined correspondingto the game names, said controller of said gaming machine comprising:agame controller for controlling a game; an image display controller foroutputting information, as instructed from said game controller, to saidgame image display unit; and a game interface for sending commandsinputted to said operation section to said game controller, saidoperation section having means for accepting selection of the type ofgame to be played from among the games to said game image display unitby said image display controller and informing said game controller ofthe selected game type, said game controller comprising:means fordetermining a degree of difficulty in playing a game; means forexecuting a game at the degree of difficulty; means for informing saidcentralized controller of game conditions; means for instructing saidimage display controller to output game names with a predetermined gameamount of money to be spent equal to or greater than the play charge andthose with a predetermined total score equal to or greater than the playscore, among the game names registered in said game registration area;and means for executing the game of the type selected through saidoperation section, said controller of said centralized controllercomprising: means for accepting input of a game condition; meansresponsive to the accepted game condition for determining adegree-of-difficulty change value used to determine the degree ofdifficulty; and means for informing said game controller of thedetermined degree-of-difficulty change value.